Two families, one holiday villa – who’s sleeping with whom?
Chloe needs a holiday. She’s sick of making wedding dresses, h... read full description
Chloe needs a holiday. She’s sick of making wedding dresses, h... read full description
reviews
Jul 30, 2008
Eliza
rated it: 
I might have finished this book, but I'm leaving for vacation in a few days and I had to prioritize my reading. And Sleeping Arrangements didn't make the cut. I love Sophie Kinsella, but while Madeleine Wickham might be the same person, she's not the same writer. It seems that in attempting to create a slightly more serious scenario, she lost all her spark. Sophie Kinsella's plot premises are utterly ridiculous, but she has me laughing and turning the pages. Madeleine Wickham's premise in S
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Aug 01, 2008
Lidia
rated it: 
I had a difficult time getting into this book. The characters weren't very interesting or involved, so I didn't develop any empathy for them and their stories. I thought it ended abrubtly and since I read the whole book, I was hoping for more closure. The only redeeming part of this book was the son Sam's relationship with the Jenna, the nanny. His awkwardness about losing his virginity was both humourous and igry.
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Jan 09, 2009
george
rated it:
Maybe I'm outgrowing chick lit? Or maybe this was just crap. I'm not sure. The last few chick lit books I've read have not really been enjoyable to me, so I'm sort of leaning towards the former; but maybe I'm just making bad choices. There were not any characters in this book that I liked. They are all reprehensible, selfish and annoying. Two families are thrown together in the same house for a week of holiday and it's starting to look like it wasn't an accident. The books that Wickham wrote und
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Feb 05, 2010
Melissa
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This book is awful. Right now I'm listening to it on my Creative Zen player while at the gym and I can't wait until it's finished. The characters are all completely unlikable, which makes it difficult to care what happens to them. I'm half-way through now and not expecting much out of the rest. We'll see in about a week...
I was right. This book did not pick up, the characters did not become more relatable or even empathizable. The ending was okay, but it left a HUGE loose end danglin More...
I was right. This book did not pick up, the characters did not become more relatable or even empathizable. The ending was okay, but it left a HUGE loose end danglin More...
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Sep 04, 2008
Carrie
rated it:
i think the author might have been trying to steel/use the setting of "Enchanted April" for this book...instead of Londoners needing a break and heading to a villa in Italy, this one was Londoners needing a break and heading to a villa in Spain. i dont like spouses cheating in the storyline so i would have given it 1 star, but it took a turn three quarters of the way through the book that was good and a little redeeming it to 2 stars. but if you dont mind people cheating on their sig
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Jan 10, 2009
Monie
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Two separate families are anxious to go on a holiday. Chloe and Philip are both frustrated with work. Chloe is a seamstress who is tired of squeezing women in dresses a size smaller than they really wear and a recent takeover in Philip’s company has left him wondering if he will have a job in the near future.
Amanda and Hugh are going through a rough patch in their marriage. Philip is obsessed with work and spends so little time with his family that his children barely even know him More...
Amanda and Hugh are going through a rough patch in their marriage. Philip is obsessed with work and spends so little time with his family that his children barely even know him More...
Jul 22, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
A Wickham books. Same author as the Shopaholic books, but these are a little different. I actually like Wickham books more because they are slightly more real and less over the top then when she writes as Kinsella. Also, there are a lot less characters, which I like because it's less people to have to follow.
In this book two families end up staying at a Spain villa together at the same time. The owner is some weird guy whom the Girl in one family knows and the Dude in the other family. More...
In this book two families end up staying at a Spain villa together at the same time. The owner is some weird guy whom the Girl in one family knows and the Dude in the other family. More...
May 14, 2011
Mom
rated it: 
What a situation to be in, to be on a holiday with someone you use to be in love with.
Chloe wanted to get away from the worry of Philip losing his job. That seemed all he did was worry about it.
She took a friend up on a vacation at his villa, but an old friend from college was there with his family too. The old friend was Hugh who happened to be in on the take over of the company Philip worked for.
Philip and Chloe were having a rough patch because she wanted him to forg More...
Chloe wanted to get away from the worry of Philip losing his job. That seemed all he did was worry about it.
She took a friend up on a vacation at his villa, but an old friend from college was there with his family too. The old friend was Hugh who happened to be in on the take over of the company Philip worked for.
Philip and Chloe were having a rough patch because she wanted him to forg More...
Feb 23, 2011
Ciara
rated it:
the main difference between madeleine wickham's books & sophie kinsella's books is that when wickham writes under her real name, she forgets that ther novels should have at least one bearable character or un-hackneyed situation.
in this one, two families are offered the use of a spanish villa owned by a mutual friend. chloe is the matriarch of family #1. she is partnered to (but not married to) a banker named phillip. phillip's bank recently merged with a much larger company, & phillip More...
in this one, two families are offered the use of a spanish villa owned by a mutual friend. chloe is the matriarch of family #1. she is partnered to (but not married to) a banker named phillip. phillip's bank recently merged with a much larger company, & phillip More...
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Feb 11, 2010
Sariah
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I liked the overall premise of the story, but I felt like there was NO depth to this book. The characters were very one-dimensional and while there was a lot of promise, nothing really happened in the character development department. There was some language and some sex, and it wasn't that great. I don't think I'll read it again.
The funny thing to me is that I love everything she has written under the name of Sophie Kinsella, but I'm not that impressed with the things that she has under t More...
The funny thing to me is that I love everything she has written under the name of Sophie Kinsella, but I'm not that impressed with the things that she has under t More...
Aug 18, 2009
Ella
rated it: 
This book is about two families. On family is really wealthy and the other is normal just no money to spare. The two families both have this friend, Gerard. He invites both of the families to stay at his Spanish villa. But the two families don’t know that there getting booked on the same day. There is so called “history” between the father of on family and he mother of the other family. They have been set up. Will they get back together?
During reading this book I noticed a text-to- More...
During reading this book I noticed a text-to- More...
Mar 20, 2011
Laura-Jane
rated it:
After finishing Twenties Girl the other day, I was still in the mood for some good chick-lit. Having read all of Sophie Kinsella's novels, I decided to check out her novels under her real name, Madeleine Wickham. I went for the cheapest of the Nook books, Sleeping Arrangements.
This novel lacks the sophistication and the light-heartedness of her later novels as Kinsella. The story is of two families that are vacationing at a mutual friend's Spanish villa. He "accidentally" More...
This novel lacks the sophistication and the light-heartedness of her later novels as Kinsella. The story is of two families that are vacationing at a mutual friend's Spanish villa. He "accidentally" More...
Dec 10, 2008
Tasha
rated it:
Not at all that interesting. The story was dry and pointless. Chloe and Hugh, who were once in relationship meet up again 10 years later, and they are both involved with other people. The only bright spot of this book was Jenna, the nanny. I won't go into great detail but the story just ends rather abruptly. There was no kind of resolve, just a rush to finish the book. A waste of time, I don't think I'll be trying anything by this author in the future.
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Dec 04, 2008
JoAnn
rated it:
Did not like this very much . . . Madeleine Wickham may be Sophie Kinsella but Sophie Kinsella is the much better writer! It seems as if Madeleine Wickham likes to deal with more serious issues and she doesn't do that good a job of it. She really should stick with the wacky, funny, ridiculous characters she creates as Sophie. Or maybe she's just bipolar and the Madeleine part is depressive. It's one to skip.
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Nov 02, 2010
Ashley
rated it:
Sleeping Arrangements
Author: Madeleine Wickham (a.k.a. Sophie Kinsella)
Characters: 3 out of 5
Plot: 2.5 out of 5
Overall: 3 out of 5
Description: (Publisher's Weekly) Wickham (The Gatecrasher; also, the Shopaholic series as Sophie Kinsella) spins a delightful story of British families forced to spend their vacation together after a mutual friend promises them the same week in his Spanish villa. Chloe Harding hopes that a holiday will soothe the strain between her and l More...
Author: Madeleine Wickham (a.k.a. Sophie Kinsella)
Characters: 3 out of 5
Plot: 2.5 out of 5
Overall: 3 out of 5
Description: (Publisher's Weekly) Wickham (The Gatecrasher; also, the Shopaholic series as Sophie Kinsella) spins a delightful story of British families forced to spend their vacation together after a mutual friend promises them the same week in his Spanish villa. Chloe Harding hopes that a holiday will soothe the strain between her and l More...
Sep 07, 2008
Kerri
rated it:
I was disappointed in this book, the set up was great but I couldn't connect to the characters at all. I kept reading in hopes that the story would get better but it didn't. They would just drink and feel sorry for themselves, or drink and argue... It never really went anywhere and I didn't care any more about the characters than when I started.
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Nov 11, 2008
Reca
rated it:
This was a quick and light fluffy read that I got through quickly and I'm actually kind of grateful for that. There were only a few moments where I liked the characters in the book. I can't say I enjoyed this nearly as much as Cocktails for Three and it might just be because no one was that likeable.
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Mar 30, 2011
A book by the author of the Shopaholic series, under her real name, I believe.
Wasn't quite sure what to expect of this -- two families, each desperately needing to get away for a vacation, end up bunged together in the same holiday villa which the same friend had "accidentally" lent to each family for the same week. Two very different families, under very different stresses, plus the fact that two of them have unfinished business from a romance in the past. Lots of pink che More...
Wasn't quite sure what to expect of this -- two families, each desperately needing to get away for a vacation, end up bunged together in the same holiday villa which the same friend had "accidentally" lent to each family for the same week. Two very different families, under very different stresses, plus the fact that two of them have unfinished business from a romance in the past. Lots of pink che More...
Jul 09, 2010
Shana
rated it:
Madeleine Wickham is the real name of Sophie Kinsella.... ok, maybe everyone else knew that but me. I was pretty excited to find a whole group of books by this author!
Like the Shopaholic series (and others by Sophie Kinsella), Sleeping Arrangements is not heavy literature. But, it is enjoyable.
Two families are on their way to a villa in Spain that a mutual friend has loaned them for a week. The families do not know each other, or that the other family will be there. More...
Like the Shopaholic series (and others by Sophie Kinsella), Sleeping Arrangements is not heavy literature. But, it is enjoyable.
Two families are on their way to a villa in Spain that a mutual friend has loaned them for a week. The families do not know each other, or that the other family will be there. More...
Jul 25, 2010
Danielle
rated it:
I grabbed this off of the book exchange shelf at my beach side hotel in Puerto Rico. This is a book you read in a bathing suit, waist-deep in a pool, margarita in hand. It was a completely out-there premise which left me rolling my eyes a few times, but it absolutely suited it's purpose. Two British families plan week-long vacations in Spain only to find out that their villa has been double booked when they all arrive within the same hour. Of course, the wife of one couple and the husband of the
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Dec 14, 2010
Maile
rated it:
I'm always a little hesitant with books written by Madeleine Wickham. I'm such a fan of her books under the Kinsella name, that I often find the Wickham books lacking. That said, this one (which I checked out from the library) might be the best I've read yet. Sleeping Arrangements is a farce that explores the relationships between many different characters. If I have a complaint it's that it ended just a little sooner than I'd like, though that seems to be par for the course for the Wickham
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Nov 19, 2011
Angie
rated it:
Meh. I kept reading so I guess maybe in that aspect I should have given it the 2 star rating for "it was ok". But really? This book didn't do anything for me. I'm getting really sick and tired of books involving infidelity. This book was just kind of a big jumbled mess of dishonesty and infidelity, job drama, insecurity, apathy, parenting issues, entitlement issues, teen sex (with an "older" woman, no less), drug use, and lots and LOTS of alcohol consumption. The one fairly i
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Feb 18, 2011
Lois
rated it:
I almost never give a book one star. I always try to find something good to say about a book, and this one's by a best-selling author so I expected something enjoyable. Sadly, I found it just plain unpleasant. Two unlikeable couples find themselves unwillingly vacationing together. I couldn't relate to any of them. All they did was drink, (I don't think any of them were ever soberthroughout the whole book), and complain about their lives. Two of them have an affair. The Nanny that one couple b
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Oct 07, 2009
Lisa
rated it:
As a single mom, I could totally relate to Chloe as single mom and trying to decide when it's appropriate to tell someone you have a kid. I also can fully relate to that glazed over, "oh sh**, my life is more important than some kid whose not mine" look that a certain person can get when confronted with your kid. I had an "oh, no!" reaction at that point in that book. The whole book was totally plausible and entirely enjoyable. Message I got from this, that I try to maint
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Nov 23, 2008
Whitney
rated it:
Couldn't hold my interest. Since this is by Sophie Kinsella, I expected a fun, quick, engrossing read. Not so. Couldn't get into the random characters or story.
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Mar 22, 2009
Emily
rated it:
Chloe and Philip are in a rough spot and just need a vacation to get away from life and work. Their friend kindly lends them his villa in spain. And they are off on vacation trying to forget the real world for a few days.
Amanda and Hugh are married, but don't know each other anymore and both work to much on different project and won't let each other in. They were also offered a Spanish Villa by a friend and took him up on his offer.
Things get confusing when they both sho More...
Amanda and Hugh are married, but don't know each other anymore and both work to much on different project and won't let each other in. They were also offered a Spanish Villa by a friend and took him up on his offer.
Things get confusing when they both sho More...
Dec 01, 2011
Jennifer
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Nov 09, 2009
Kristin
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I enjoyed this book, as I do all books by Madeleine Wickham. Her style of writing just flows and keeps the pages turing. The description on the back of the book leaves you asking questions, such as how in the world did two families get double booked in a vacation home. As you read the book, you learn more about the families and individual family members to learn what makes them tick and the situations they are dealing with. Wickham does a great job of keeping the book light hearted while dealing
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May 06, 2011
Melowin
rated it:
Though I got through this one more quickly than Cocktails for Three, it still left me feeling "meh". Could be my personal hangups on that though - I just don't like the element of marital infidelity, especially dressed up (in the book's inside flap blurb) as a romance. This isn't a romance, it's a novel about emotional growth and changing relationships. Which isn't a bad thing in itself, unless you're going in thinking, "Oh, this will be a nice light-hearted romance". There w
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Jan 05, 2012
*tarazza
rated it:
I found this book for a dollar at Half Price Books, and thought it was a very enjoyable read. I didn't read the plot summary on the cover so I wasn't sure whether it was a romance, and in the end, while it did revolve around romantic relationships, I don't think I'd describe it as such. This is the kind of plot (which revolves so much around marriage and children) I wouldn't have been satisfied ten years ago, but I find as I get older that I really enjoy identifying with characters who find them
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